For three years, I was the head coach of one of our school's First Lego League (FLL ) robotics team, the Cougar Bots. Coaching was an incredible time commitment. The team met two days after school for an hour and half and three hours every Saturday during the competition season from September to December. My team was fortunate enough to qualify for the state tournament all three years, so our season lasted until mid-February. I felt humbled when I was honored during the regional competition during the 2008-2009 season "For Inspiring Youth as a 2008 FIRST Coach."
REFLECTION
In the midst of the season, I would tell my technology director, "This will probably be my last year of coaching" but the experience was always so amazing that I would sign on for the next year. I know my energy inspired the students, but their enthusiasm in return inspired me back. The experience of coaching was a bit different from my previous experiences with teaching. The students were responsible for finding the solutions and I was simply there to guide their discoveries. Not only did I learn how much my team was capable of, but I took this experience with me back to the classroom. I began utilizing the discovery learning process more in my daily teachings and witnessed my students sore with success. I realized that teaching is a bit like coaching, I just had to provide the right guidance.
For three years, I was the head coach of one of our school's First Lego League (FLL ) robotics team, the Cougar Bots. Coaching was an incredible time commitment. The team met two days after school for an hour and half and three hours every Saturday during the competition season from September to December. My team was fortunate enough to qualify for the state tournament all three years, so our season lasted until mid-February. I felt humbled when I was honored during the regional competition during the 2008-2009 season "For Inspiring Youth as a 2008 FIRST Coach."
REFLECTION
In the midst of the season, I would tell my technology director, "This will probably be my last year of coaching" but the experience was always so amazing that I would sign on for the next year. I know my energy inspired the students, but their enthusiasm in return inspired me back. The experience of coaching was a bit different from my previous experiences with teaching. The students were responsible for finding the solutions and I was simply there to guide their discoveries. Not only did I learn how much my team was capable of, but I took this experience with me back to the classroom. I began utilizing the discovery learning process more in my daily teachings and witnessed my students sore with success. I realized that teaching is a bit like coaching, I just had to provide the right guidance.